


Transparent Signals

by obisgirl



Category: Alphas, Heroes - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-25
Updated: 2012-06-28
Packaged: 2017-11-08 18:44:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/446313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obisgirl/pseuds/obisgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Getting the cold shoulder from most of her family about her coming out, Claire resorts to private sessions with a certain psychiatrist for advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers: Heroes, Vol. 6 "A Brave New World"  
> Disclaimer: Alphas characters come from creative geniuses Zak Penn and Michael Karnow. Heroes’ characters are a property of NBC’s and Tim Kring’s. This fanfic is for pure entertainment and lots of Paire angst.

His office was nothing like she expected. It was plain with a few case files and some awards but not many personal affectations.  Claire Bennet didn't really know what to expect when she finally agreed to meet Dr. Rosen.

She made very few house calls.  She didn't have an agent to screen most of the people who wanted to meet her, so she had to look them up herself.  Claire was about to dismiss Doctor Rosen's interest and then read up his research about 'Alphas' : people with the unique power to stretch the capabilities of the human mind giving them superhuman physical and mental abilities.

That description fit all of her friends. So she understood why he wanted to meet her...which should have been 30 minutes ago.

Claire grabbed her purse, about to leave, when an awkward young man blocked the door.  "He's coming. Doctor's Rosen's coming up. He's late this morning because Detective Wilson wanted to talk to him about a case. But he's coming. He'll be here soon," he said.

"Thanks," she smiled, looking to him to introduce himself.

"Gary Bell," he said, shaking her hand.  "Just wait. He'll be here,"  Gary fell silent a minute, looking up into the air and smiled as Claire wondered what he was looking at. There was nothing there but he seemed to see something she couldn't. "He's talking on his cell phone, level 7.  Two more floors, five minutes."

Claire thanked him again and he quietly went away as Doctor Rosen came off the elevator. He met a tall woman briefly and then she went back to her office. Doctor Rosen noticed Claire standing in the doorway of his office and he embarrassingly walked towards her. "I'm sorry for the delay this morning, Ms. Bennet. Detective Wilson wanted to talk to me about a case," he said.

She remembered what Gary said and excused his tardiness.  She walked back inside the office, put down her purse and sat down as he settled in.  "I was about to leave but Gary stopped me," she said.

"I'm so sorry again about my tardiness," he apologized.

"Forget it," she mused, "I have to admit Doctor Rosen, when I first got your card, I was a little skeptical about why you wanted to see me,"

"Why's that Ms. Bennet?"

"Claire," she corrected, "I'm not that old yet,"

He laughed. "Claire,"

"I get requests from everyone, people who want to get their hands on the invincible girl. Interviews, television shows, even invitations for stunt demonstrations...but a neurologist?"

Rosen shrugged. "Why is that unusual?"

"I don't know. You tell me," she countered, "How do I fit into your group of Alphas? Need someone who’s indestructible?"

Rosen sighed. He could understand why she thought that way. "It's nothing like that. All five of the individuals on my Alphas team are not weapons, Ms. Bennet – Claire. Their abilities are used to track and put Alphas who use their ability for malicious purposes, away," he explained. "But my interest in you is not about that. I didn't ask to meet with you because I thought you could be an asset to my team. I asked you here because I thought maybe with everything you've seen and done over the years, and with your current celebrity status, you might like a place to come to every now and then. And talk,"

To say Claire was confused was an understatement.  But she had to admit, it felt good to be offered the chance to talk to someone about her life who wasn't biased about her choices. All her friends knew her history and most of them, especially her dad and Peter, were quick to judge why she jumped in the first place. She hated that. "All right," she consented. "So how does this work? You have a comfy couch where I lie down?"

"No," he admitted, "but I can ask Bill to bring one in here if you like,"

"One of your Alphas?"

"Bill is able to summon amazing strength by consciously activating the "fight-or-flight" response. With a flood of adrenaline, pain receptors are subdued and for short bursts of time, he experiences super human strength and a resistance to harm that borders on invulnerability," he explained.

"Oh,"

Claire sighed, "So what can the kid do?"

"Gary? He can 'read' a wide range of frequencies including television, radio, and cell phone signals in the same way people typically hear the everyday sounds around them,"

Like Micah, Claire thought. "How do I start?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Like do I sit here for an hour and give you my entire life's story?"

"Oh no," he quickly replied, "How about let's start with the after effects of you coming out. How did it affect your relationship with your friends --- and family,"

Family, Claire thought.  Doctor Rosen couldn't have known that was a sore spot for her but that was one thing she definitely did not feel comfortable talking about in a first session.

Every time she tried to explain herself to her dad, he'd say it was a mistake and say he had an appointment.  Peter, on the other hand, simply used work and spending time with his girlfriend as an excuse not to see her.  Two men she desperately wanted approval from didn't want anything to do with her and it hurt, a lot.

"No offense Doctor Rosen," Claire said, standing up abruptly. "But I think this was a mistake. I'm sorry for wasting your time,"

"Wait a minute Claire," he called back.

"Doctor Rosen, my life is complicated enough," she said, "I had to drop out this semester from college because the media attention interferes with my classes. I don't need my life to be even more complicated than it already is..."

"Why not talk about it with someone who's unbiased?" he offered.

Claire sighed, walking back inside the office and sat down. She didn't know where to start.  All her friends hated her for what she did.

Doctor Rosen poured two glasses of water as Claire checked her cell phone for messages.  He offered her a glass.  "Checking the time? This session can be as long or short as you like, Claire," he said.

"I wasn't..." she started. 

"Checking messages from someone?"

"Neither of them will talk to me," she cried, "Who could blame them? I've been hiding who I am since I discovered my ability and now it's out there in the media, on twitter, facebook and YouTube -- they had to have known it wasn't going to stay a secret forever,"

"Who?"

"It's complicated," she offered, checking her cell phone again for messages.

Rosen smiled. "Must be someone important if you're checking your cell phone every couple of minutes," he said.

"They both are," she mused, "but they refuse to talk to me,"

"Who are they?"

Claire shook her head, feeling antsy again. It really hurt her that neither her dad nor Peter didn't want to see her.  It had been six months now since the carnival incident.  If six months later, nothing apocalyptic happened, then surely they would have reached out to her. But nothing. "They hate me for what I did," Claire mused.  "I didn't jump for glory or fame. I jumped because it was either Samuel's way or mine. If we hadn't stopped him, it would have been prison camps and Gods knows what else,"

"Samuel Sullivan," Rosen said, as Claire looked at him curiously. "I read the case reports of that night,"

"He could have destroyed half of New York and for what? To simply prove a point?"

"You proved a point, Claire," he said, "that this secret was bound to get out, one way or another,"

Claire sighed, watching Gary talk with a short attractive lady outside.  "What about your Alphas' Doctor Rosen? How do you think the world would react if they knew about their existence? How would you react? Would you do what you could to protect them?"

Doctor Rosen shifted uncomfortably. Only a select few individuals knew what he was doing. General population, as a whole, did not. But if push comes to shove, his most instinctive reaction would be to protect Bill, Hicks, Nina, Gary and Rachel.

"All my life, that's all everyone's done. Try to protect me; save the cheerleader, save the world. But I'm not a cheerleader anymore,"

"I think I can see that,"

"That's easy because you're --" she stopped mid-sentence, recognizing the voice and turned to the front door.  Peter stood there, dressed in his paramedic uniform with the tall woman she saw earlier behind him.  "Peter,"

"Sorry Doctor Rosen," the woman apologized, "but he said he knew your patient and needed to see her,"

Doctor Rosen looked between Claire and the paramedic standing in his doorway, and then to Nina.  And it occurred to him, this was one of the unnamed individuals who refused to speak with her.

"How did you even know I was here?"  Claire asked. 

"Gretchen mentioned you had an appointment with a Doctor Rosen," he said, turning to the doctor.  "Sorry for interrupting your session, doctor. I'm Peter,"

"I gathered that," he said, looking back at Claire.  "Um Nina, you have anymore new information about that case Wilson wanted to look into?"

"Yeah but..." she started but he gave her a look and backed down, "Let's check it out,"

"How are you?" Claire asked as he walked inside the office and sat down behind Rosen's desk.

"Busy," he said simply, "Emma's adjusting nicely to using her ability. We're um --- how are you?"

Claire sighed. "I've been the same, busy,"

Peter looked around Rosen's office and then back at his niece. "What is this Claire? Who is this guy?"

"He's someone I can talk to," she retorted, crossing her arms, "Unlike my friends and family who have abandoned me,"

"I haven't ---" he started and then backed down.  He didn't want to call him avoiding her, abandonment, but he could understand why she saw it that way. "I'm sorry Claire,"

"I trusted you Peter to always be there for me and you haven't, at all. Six months of silence and unreturned phone calls and text messages," Claire cried, "You know I didn't do what I did to spite you,"

"I know," he breathed, standing up and walking over to her. "All I've ever wanted to do was protect you Claire. I care about you,"

She sighed, turning to him.  "I'm not that same kid anymore, Peter. You can't always protect me,"

"More than anything, I was angrier with myself for not being there for you,"

"How come you never called then? Why come to me now Peter?"

Peter shrugged.

~~

Doctor Rosen couldn't pay attention to what Nina was saying about their current case because he was more interested in what was going on in his office.  Clearly Claire had a connection with Peter and if he didn't know any better, he would have thought they were involved but that wasn't it. 

Gary saw he was distracted too and knew why. 

"They like each other," he said bluntly, referring to Peter and Claire.  "Yeah, they like each other. A lot,"

"Gary have you been surfing through text messages again?" Rachel asked. "I thought you were supposed to stop eavesdropping on people. It's not polite,"

"She checked her cell phone messages five times, not counting the two times she checked them while she was talking with Doctor Rosen. Each time, I traced it back to one person, that guy Peter Petrelli," Gary said,  "She definitely likes him, or is obsessed with him.  Otherwise, why else would someone check their cell phone messages seven times within an hour?"

Doctor Rosen didn't say anything but Gary's assumption was an accurate observation. There was something going on with those two.

~~

"I thought protecting you Claire was my job," Peter said,  "Ever since we first met in front of that trophy case at your school. You called me 'your hero."

"You are Peter," Claire cried, "but you're my friend and family foremost,"

He sighed. “I almost didn’t come here.  For six months, I listened to everyone’s point of view about what you did: Gabriel, Ma, Emma, Hiro, Ando, Noah…”

“Great, my own dad refuses to talk to me but he’ll talk to my Uncle,” she retorted.

“Noah still cares about you, Claire,” he said, “We all do. I don’t know where you get this idea that we’re all against you,”

“Maybe it’s because none of you refused to talk to me for six months,”

“Okay,” Peter conceded, “That’s fair,”

“What did Sylar say?” she ventured.

“He thought you were brave and gutsy,” he said. “I thought so too,”

That perked Claire’s interest, mainly because it was the last thing she expected to hear from him. 

“You’re not afraid Claire,” he continued, “I’ve seen a lot of what could happen if it all goes wrong but I never stopped to think, what if it doesn’t? The future doesn’t have to be dark. There can be light,”

“Did you tell my dad that?”

Peter chuckled. “You know Noah, Claire. He’s as stubborn as you are but then again, your father was the same way too. Let’s be honest, Nathan could be a nice guy when he wanted to be but when he was a jerk, he put his whole heart into it,”

Claire laughed. “That’s true,” she mused, looking thoughtfully at him. “I’m glad I haven’t lost you, Peter. I don’t know if I could stand if I did. You’re the one constant in my life,”

Peter smiled, lightly brushing away a loose hair, the same way he did before the events of Kirby Plaza. 

“I missed you, Peter,”

“I missed you too,” he said, kissing her forehead. “I know I can’t always protect you Claire but I’ll always be there for you. If you need me to stand by you, I will,”

Claire cuddled close to him, thankful for his support. She was grateful she had Peter’s support but she still needed to reach out to her dad and Angela.

She didn’t expect it was going to be easy with them, especially her dad but she felt better, knowing Peter was beside her.

“I love you,” she said.

“I know,” he whispered.

Suddenly, Doctor Rosen knocked on the wall, interrupting the two. “Sorry but is everything okay in here?” he asked.

Claire glanced at Peter and then to the doctor. “Yes actually,” she said, a thought occurring to her. “Doctor Rosen, would it be all right if I cut our session short?”

He looked at Peter and the man’s relaxed grin told him everything was all right now. “I could see you tomorrow or sometime later if you prefer,” he said.

Claire thanked him for his help and left with Peter. Doctor Rosen watched their interaction curiously, and saw Claire’s hand slip into Peter’s as they exited the office. Whatever transpired in those few minutes they spent alone, obviously helped. What would happen from here on out with the rest of her family was uncertain but Claire was a stronger person because she had Peter.

Gary noticed too.

The End


	2. Absolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire is distraught after having lunch with Peter, Emma and Sylar..?! Now, she needs therapy.   
> Fic Type: Crack! Drama, sequel to Transparent Signals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers: Heroes, Vol. 6 “A Brave New World”  
> Disclaimer: Alphas characters come from creative geniuses Zak Penn and Michael Karnow. Heroes’ characters are a property of NBC’s and Tim Kring’s. This fanfic is for pure entertainment.

Dr. Rosen watched Claire curiously as she tried to get comfortable. This was their second official session together. He wasn't even expecting to see her that afternoon but she arrived suddenly, saying that she needed to talk. She said that normally she would talk to Peter but he was a part of the problem and she wanted to talk to someone unbiased. Until Claire showed up, it had been a relatively calm morning. 

Finally, Claire settled down but Doctor Rosen could see that she was still antsy. “I've had a really bad day,” she said finally. 

Rosen smiled sympathetically. “That happens to all of us, Claire,” 

“I know, but I've had really a bad day,” she continued, ”It all started when I met Peter and Emma for lunch,” 

“Who's Emma?” he ventured. 

“Emma is a friend of Peter's, she and Peter work at the same hospital,” she mused, “Anyway, I thought I was only meeting Peter and Emma for lunch but someone else joined us who I did not want to see,” 

Claire sighed heavily, anger clouding her eyes. “Why they felt the need to bring him to lunch, I will never understand!” she fumed. 

“Calm down, Claire,” Rosen soothed, “Who did they bring to lunch that upset you?” 

“Only the guy who sliced my head open, took my ability, the same man responsible for murdering my parents and spent years chasing me because I was 'special.'“ Claire ranted, “I honestly don't know what they were expecting to accomplish...” 

“Who is this again?” 

“Sylar!” she cried, “Although, he's supposedly reformed now and best friends with Peter and Emma,” 

Rosen sat back. Sylar. It was the name of a German watch but that was all Rosen knew. But clearly, Claire had a deeper, dark history with this man that Peter and Emma wanted to fix. “Okay, I'm lost. Who is Sylar again? Is he like you?” 

“He has an ability, if that's what you mean,” Claire added, “but he's psychotic!” 

“That's your clinical diagnosis?” he joked. 

“He's dangerous, manipulative...I know Peter wants to believe that he's changed but I don't see that,” Claire cried, “He killed Nathan,” 

“Who's Nathan?” 

Claire rolled her eyes. “My biological father, Nathan Petrelli,” she said, “Not only that, my grandmother and dad spent months covering Nathan's death. They made Sylar believe that he was Nathan. How sick is that? I loved the man who killed my father,” 

“And now Peter wants you to fix things with him,” Rosen reasoned, removing his glasses, “Well, this is very complicated, indeed. Would you mind recapping what happened at lunch?” 

Claire sighed heavily. “None of it is pretty,” she warned him. 

~~

Claire didn't get to see Peter as often as she liked, but was more than happy to drop what she was doing to meet him and Emma for lunch. She didn't know much about the woman Peter saved from Doyle at the Sullivan's Carnival but she was important to him. Peter chose the spot, a nice Italian deli not far from the hospital he worked at. Peter was talking quietly with Emma when Claire arrived. He smiled up at her and Emma turned around, hugging her. 

“Claire, I'm glad that you could make it,” Emma said, ”We haven't had the chance to interact very much since the carnival,” 

“I know,” she mused, “but thankfully since Doctor Rosen's big alphas speech, things have gotten better,” 

[“You talk about me with Peter?” Doctor Rosen interrupted, and Claire glared at him. “Sorry. Continue.”]

“How are you?” Peter asked. 

“I'm good,” she smiled, looking only at him. “Have you guys ordered already?” 

“Not yet,” Emma said, “we're expecting a fourth,” 

Claire frowned. She thought this was an exclusive invite, but obviously it wasn't. “Okay,” she mused, picking up a menu. “Who else are we expecting?” 

“Emma,” a voice started, and Emma stared up at the man standing behind Claire. She froze, recognizing that thick voice and turned around slowly. Gabriel smiled down at her. “Hello Claire. I wasn't expecting to see you here,” 

“Neither was I,” she said pointedly, glaring back at Peter. “This is who you invited to join us for lunch?!” 

Peter looked at his menu, averting his eyes from her. “It wasn't Peter's idea,” Emma said, “I've been talking with Gabriel the past couple of days and he told me how much he wanted to make things right with you, Claire,” 

“And you went along with this?” Claire asked, still staring at Peter. 

“He's not that all bad anymore,” he defended. 

“You would say that because you spent hundreds of years with him in Matt's head,” Claire retorted, “Sorry, but I don't share the same sentiment,” 

[“Sorry to interrupt again, but who is Matt?” Rosen added. 

Claire sighed. “He's a friend of ours. He can read your thoughts.” she said, “May I continue?”

“Yes, of course.”]

“Claire, we need to get passed this,” Peter continued, “Gabriel's different now and he regrets what he did to you,”

“Just me?” she mused, raising an eyebrow, “Don't forget Peter, he killed Nathan, your brother,” 

[“Wait a minute!” Rosen interrupted, “Peter is your Uncle?!” 

Claire looked at him weird. ”Yeah, who did you think Peter was?” 

Rosen shrugged. “I don't know...your boyfriend or...you two don't act like uncle and niece,” 

“I wasn't raised in the Petrelli household. I only found out about my biological father three years ago and I didn't know Peter was my Uncle either but that's not the topic of this therapy session,” Claire explained.] 

“Claire,” Sylar added, ”I know I hurt you and I can never fully make it up to you because of what I did but I sincerely want to make things right with you,”

Claire only stared blankly at him. She had been through so much pain and suffering because of this man and he had the gull to ask her forgiveness? And Peter! She could not believe that he was falling for this redemption act. ”You're right,” she retorted, “You will never be able to make it up to me and you know what, Sylar? I'm okay with that. Because you've done too much, not just to me, my family...” 

“I'm different now Claire. I'm not that same person anymore,” he said. ”Please,”

“Claire,” Peter interrupted, “Gabriel's different now. He's good,” 

Claire shifted her focus to Peter. Of all the people, Peter was the last person she expected to defend Sylar. “What is this Peter? He saves Emma from Samuel and all of the sudden, you and Sylar are 'bbff'?” she retorted. 

Peter sighed. ”I know it's difficult for you to understand but Gabriel and I have had time to work through our differences,” he reasoned, ”and I truly believe that he's changed,” 

“Because you were trapped with him in Matt's head for a hundreds of years?” Claire mused. 

“Claire,” Emma interrupted, talking for the first time since Sylar arrived at the table. ”I know that I don't have the benefit of having known Gabriel for a long time but I do know that he is trying to change his life and deserves a second chance,” 

She smiled wistfully at Emma. ”It's nice Emma that you're optimistic and I hate to crush that but there isn't going to be a resolution here,” Claire said, looking again at Peter, “And I can't forget everything that he did to me overnight,” Claire turned her attention to Sylar, “and you're not getting absolution from me,” 

Doctor Rosen didn't know what else to say but one thing was clear, Claire had a deep-seated hatred towards Sylar and for good reason. However, as her psychiatrist, he wasn't sure if he could offer her solace or advice. Perhaps Claire would always hold onto her anger towards Sylar but he felt that wasn't the reason why she dropped by; and maybe, Claire was the one who needed absolution. 

“I don't know what I can tell you Claire,” Lee offered, ”This man hurt you deeply...you have every right to want to hold onto that anger but I think in this case, the best thing, is to let it go,” 

Claire shook her head. ”I can't forget what he did to me,” 

“I know you can't and you're probably going to have hundreds of years to hold onto your anger but is it really worth it? He asked for your forgiveness, Claire,” 

“He killed my parents, sliced my head open and took my ability. I can't feel anything because of him!” Claire cried. ”How can I forgive that?” 

Rosen sighed. Not everyone deserved forgiveness but sometimes, absolution was the only way to move on. “To forgive is an act of compassion, Claire. It's-it's... it's not done because people deserve it. It's done because they need it,” he said. 

“What if I can't forgive him, ever?” she continued to cry, “I didn't ask to be born this way. I can heal but I can't feel anything because of him!” 

Lee's heart broke for Claire. It was easy to see how badly Sylar scarred Claire, not just physically but emotionally as well. Still...he stood up suddenly, kneeling beside her. “I can't imagine the pain this man put you through Claire but you have to at least consider, maybe your only option for peace, is to forgive,” he said. 

Claire looked at him then tilted her head, noticing a figure in the doorway. Lee frowned, turning to look too.   
“How did you even find me?” Claire cried, disgusted to have to see his face twice in one day. 

Gabriel sighed, glancing at the doctor. ”Peter told me where you might be,” 

“Of course he did,” 

Doctor Rosen stood up, studying Sylar and then looked back at Claire. He asked her if she wanted to be alone and she gestured that he could stay. 

“I'm sorry if I was interrupting something but I couldn't leave things like that,” Gabriel continued, walking closer towards Claire, who immediately tensed up causing him to back away. “I don't know what else to say to you Claire other than I'm sorry,” 

Claire didn't say anything. 

“The truth is Claire, we're both broken,” he continued, “My real father killed my mother and left me with a stranger...and when I found him again, he was dying from cancer. He didn't know what I could do but when he did, he tried to kill me so he could start over,” 

Still, silence. 

“I suppose in a way, Nathan did the same thing with you when you were a baby. Except the difference is that he thought you were dead and my dad simply abandoned me,” Sylar mused. 

“We've been through this,” Claire retorted, “If you think we're alike, you are dead wrong,” 

“Nathan was a jerk...Peter knew it, you knew it but you still forgave him,” he noted, staring at Claire, “Don't I deserve the same forgiveness?” 

Rosen looked curiously at Claire. 

“I know you're different now,” she said finally, “but I can't change the way I feel about you overnight. You hurt me,” 

Gabriel sighed, glancing at Doctor Rosen, almost saying 'so much for your help.' He turned, looking at Claire again. “I had to at least try,” he mused. 

“Gabriel,” Claire started as he turned to leave, “One day, it's not going to be tomorrow or next week but one day, maybe I can forgive you. But I need time,” 

He grinned, “I guess I'm lucky then because time is all we have,” he said. ”But the hope of receiving forgiveness from you, Claire, is a start. Thank you,” 

Claire didn't say anything else, feeling her nerves start to calm. Nothing could ever erase the pain she felt but 'time' hopefully, would help her heal. 

The End


End file.
